Issue #35 - What do we want? Cheap, risk-free integration, please.
In this issue: Vile Rumour & Gossip | Integration & Insulation | Getting a handle on content ROI at last? | AI and the SDLC
We’re full-on with event prep here, and that means we’re talking to a lot of customers. Nearly 150 of them on Zoom calls between December and March! What have we learned so far? Read on…
Vile Rumour & Gossip
The 850% price hike is real
FFS people, can we just stop this? One Trust (once again) tried it on with 9 days to go before a Commerce Futures (CF) community member’s renewal. And no, that’s not a typo. Needless to say, they lost a client.
Same price retention is good business
Elsewhere, some great vendors are being realistic. Same price, same terms, same support – 12 more months. Thanks, and let’s go. Customers know that sends a message that things are tough, but they’re fully grateful for the sameness.
3...2...1...lift off!
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Integration & Insulation
The big trend in bigger/more complex businesses is to insulate the old tech (Monolith, etc.) from the new stuff via sexy new middleware or an iPaaS platform. This world is changing fast. And it’s not contained to just the people/vendors I talk about often.
We’re hearing about DAMs launching their own iPaaS and POS, too. So, in many ways, this harsher economy is forcing tech firms to find new ways to innovate and fix the old issue of slow, expensive, and risky integration.
We chimed in last issue about the lack of trust in accelerators. There is a little bit of a hangover in customers’ minds about iPaaS, but the “black box fear” that tech buyers always have is simply not there among eCom and Digital buyers. They’re a simple lot; they just want the integration challenge to go away.
Frankly, insulation is simply kicking the problem down the road. But at least these customers can keep innovating while that’s going on.
Getting a handle on content ROI at last?
We’ve been speaking to a whole slew of vendors in the content space that are attempting to do pretty much everything. Index, categorise, publish and (most importantly) measure the effectiveness of ALL content types.
Most of the players involved are old-school DAM systems trying to stay relevant, and it does make sense. CMS players, for their part, have failed so far to create anything other than pretty shonky automated content features. But heck, they all still made targets last year (unlike the eCom vendors).
AI and the SDLC
Software engineers are nervous. As we prep the speaker agenda for MACH 4 (otherwise known as The Composable Conference), every customer CIO, engineering lead, and dev-focused grown-up is thinking about the size and shape of their team, the SDLC (software development life cycle) and how automation best plays into it.
So far, 20+ conversations have resulted in most involved signalling that their automation work might be best suited to utility work: optimisation, updates, testing, and integration. Many are using this “moment” to decide where internal resources need to focus and do their best work. The conclusion so far? In their area of “secret sauce”.
Automated risk-free, low-cost integration is now seen as table stakes for vendors and owning your own iPaaS might be a very clever move for any vendor trying to grow quickly outside of an ecosystem like Shopify, for example.
That’s it - More in March you lovelies.
Buyingtime Dictionary
Frequently used (but never about you) phrases from Buyingtime Ltd.
Cheap Watch
/tʃiːp/ /wɒtʃ/
adjective
1. Cracks under pressure
Us: "Oh, you can measure true ROI on content spend? Show us. Now."
Merchant: "Uhhh...!" Screaming starts. We stare, harder.
Merchant: "AAAAWWUUUUUGGGHHHH" Screaming intensifies.
Us: "Tch. Cheap watch."
